Covert Operations
by MajorSam
Summary: "So you've got some crazy reverse James Bond thing going on here..."
1. Chapter 1

"I really don't know why I couldn't have just been called Bond, at least. Seriously. It didn't have to be James or anything, just… Bond!" Will shook his head.

"Please… William Bond? Bill Bond? It's ridiculous." Scoffed Magnus.

"Hey now…"

"Or on the topic of nicknames, how about Bill-Bo?"

"Oh come on. Bilbo!? I'm way too tall to be a hobbit."

"Ah yes, but if you grew it out, you'd have the proper hair." Magnus grinned as she reached up and ruffled said hair. Will glanced around and was very disgruntled to see that no one in the room was going to stand up for him. This might, of course, have something to do with the fact that he'd never met any of them before this night. The young psychologist sighed as he remembered the chain of events that had got him into this.

**********

It all started a few days earlier, when Magnus had discovered that a Senator in New City was rumored to have secret information on a new weapon being designed for what he thought was the Government. Magnus suspected the weapson was in reality for an up and coming rogue organization similar to the Cabal. The Sanctuary team unanimously agreed that they needed to find out exactly what information he had, but Henry was currently off the continent dealing with a crisis at the Moscow Sanctuary that was taking up all his time, so he couldn't help with hacking the Senator's well protected systems. He'd managed to send them instructions on how to do it themselves, but unfortunately they would need to do it directly at the Senator's main system, which happened to be the computers at his personal home, just outside of New City.

Will had been sitting in the library trying to look up the Senator's contacts to see if they had an "in", while Kate had been eagerly detailing an invasion plan, when Magnus had strolled in, with a small smile on her face.

"Magnus! I've been looking up this Senator Miller's political history, seeing if there's something we can use as a ploy to get in, and-"

"Thank you very much for your initiative," she interrupted.

"Oh, want to hear my invasion plan!?" piped up Kate.

Magnus smiled, "Thank you both, but there's really no need."

Kate and Will looked at each other, then back at Magnus, silently waiting for her solution.

She'd grinned, and held up two tickets.

"Will and I have been invited to a party!"

Next thing Will knew, it was a few hours later, and he was in a tuxedo, riding a limosuine. During the ride, Magnus hurridly tried to tell him the details of his fake identity, but the information had extended only so far as his name. The time was mainly spent poring over the hacking instructions, and the layout of the house, trying to route their way to the computer office. Will had never got the chance to inquire after _her_ identity, or how she'd magically gotten them tickets to a very formal and inclusive fundraiser soiree the Senator was gallantly holding. It only took a minute inside the grand entrance lobby of the sprawling mansion to get his answers.

"My god! Helen of Devonshire!? I can't believe you really came"

A short, but very wide man of at least 60 came bumbling up to them. His cheeks were already pink, and Will could tell that the glass of brandy in his hand had not been his first.

"My darling Geoffrey, of course I did!" Magnus replied with a smile so wide Will almost cringed. Geoffrey seemed to swell.

"You look just as radiant as ever! How do you stay looking so young!? I couldn't believe when you called me and asked if I would be here tonight!"

"Well my dear, it's been so long – I've been wanting to see you again and I knew that everyone who's anyone would be here," Magnus countered, winking. Will blinked. Was she flirting with this guy?

Geoffrey chortled, and waved his hand in dismissal. "Helen, you flatter me too much!"

"Never!" she admonished. "But my dear Geoffrey, I must introduce you to my friend, William Baker."

Magnus slid her arm through his own, pulling him close. Geoffrey gave a start. He'd been so focused on the vision Magnus presented in her floor length, deep purple evening gown that he hadn't realized there was another person with her. He quickly took in Will's tuxedo'd form, and started chuckling again.

"Oooh Helen. Another young 'friend' eh!? Alas, if only I was a few years younger and a few pounds less," he said, shaking Will's hand and chuckling once again.

"Oh no, Geoffrey, you would ruin me for all other men, then break my heart! It would be simply too tragic," said Magnus in a dramatic voice, while pouting her bottom lip out. "Now if you'll please excuse us, I see someone I _must_ catch up with!" She took the man's hand, squeezing it gently, before gliding away with Will still attached to her arm.

It took several more introductions and several more winks before Magnus let Will drag her off to a quiet corner in the dining hall, just off of the main lobby and party area. He got straight down to the point.

"Ok, seriously Magnus, this was not in the mission briefing. What the hell is all this!?"

Magnus had the good graces to look slightly abashed.

"I'm sorry Will, I know this mission came up very suddenly, but I knew Geoffrey would be able to get me in here, and I had to take the opportunity."

"That's fine, but for this brief moment that we're not being accosted by cries of "My dear Helen" can you please give me a little backstory here?"

She sighed, and sat down on a nearby chair.

"I met Geoffrey, or Ambassador Hess, as he's known to most, a few years ago when I attended an opera in town. He was… very doting with his attentions, shall we say, but through our conversation I learned that he had a surprising amount of political connections. I kept in touch, and have on a few occasions been able to gain entry to such events as these because of my friendship with him."

Will nodded as he saw the potential use of such a relationship, then frowned as he thought about it more.

"Has he ever tried to…you know..." he waved his hands about, uncomfortably. Why was he even asking this?

"Take the relationship further? No. You see, everyone here knows me as Helen of Devonshire, the poor widow of an English Duke."

"Ah, ok, that makes some more sense then." Will sat down on his own chair while he digested the new information on Helen's apparent secret other life. He knew that throughout her life, Magnus had been connected with people very high up in governments. He knew for a fact that she had an open invitation to the White House, but as her real self. He supposed that with this middle-echelon group, who seemed more interested in the pretense of power than actually doing anything useful with it, that an alter-ego would be useful.

"Another question?"

"Of course."

"When we first arrived… Geoffrey called me "Another young friend." Will mimicked quotation marks on the word "friend"

Helen pursed her lips together, and turned her face away.

"And while you've been introducing me to people I've got a lot of funny looks from people. Men seem... I don't know, but some of the women shot some pretty mean daggers your way."

Will didn't even need his acute visual skills to recognize that Helen looked a trace embarassed. It was not something he was used to seeing on her.

"Well, as a desperately lonely widow, Helen of Devonshire is often seen at parties with, shall we say escorts of a very handsome and very young range?"

It took an extra minute for Will to really wrap his head around that.

"And who, exactly, are the guys that come with you? Where do you find them?"

At this, Magnus raised a delicate eyebrow. Will frowned, but then realized what she was saying. He suddenly noticed the fact that her hair was especially long and curly this evening. It seemed to shine even in the low light of the room. The way her make up was done accented the intense blue of her eyes, but also shadowed them in a way that made her seem mysterious. A very expensive necklace rested in the midst of a plunging neckline. Her perfect posture allowed the shimmering gown to cascade down her body, even while sitting, and he realized there was a slit in the right side of the dress that ran all the way up to mid thigh. The hands she now had draped over the top of the chair were perfectly manicured, long, and elegent. To cap it off, even the toes within the usual killer shoes she wore were a deep luminescent purple.

Will gulped. He had just intensely checked out his boss.

He sheepishly raised his head to meet her amused gaze.

"Ok. That question's answered. Moving on…"

The side of her mouth quirked ever so slightly upward.

The psychologist pondered some more on this new side of Magnus, when he realized something else - Magnus had deemed him worthy of being her next escort, composed of "Very young and very handsome" men. He was pretty sure there was a complement in there, and he smothered a smile. They were rare, coming from her, and usually based more on his intelligence and work, rather than looks.

"So just to clarify then… I'm purely the man candy here?"

She nodded.

"So you've got some crazy reverse James Bond thing going on here."

She smiled and nodded again.

"You'd be amazed, Will, how much more willing to talk people are when dealing with a woman who's well known for being a harmless, hopeless, even pitiable…how would you call it.. cougar? Instead of a… well, anyone else."

Will noticed a brief shadow flit across her eyes as she said this. He got a sudden urge to reach out and touch her hand, but didn't.

"I think you're great to talk to, as the real you." he said softly. She gave him a half smile, not really believing what he said. She knew she could be rather uptight, but it just came with the territory… if she could afford the time to have frivolous conversations, and do fun things with her friends, she probably would. But she didn't have the time, and tried not to dwell.

Will sensed it was time to lighten the mood.

"So not only do I _not_ get to be the suave lady charmer, but I get a name like "Baker"? I mean, I like bread and pastries, but…"

Magnus' grin was wry this time.

"Sorry, Will, but my reputation is well established with this group of people. I thought I was doing you a favour by letting you keep your first name. Makes things much easier."

"Well then thank you ever so much for your kindness."

"My pleasure. Now, I think it's time to return to the party, or people will think we've been up to something." She stood up and extended her hand towards him. He gulped as he took her arm and led her back to the din.

"So… how close, exactly, are we supposed to be pretending to be?"


	2. Chapter 2

Will had never liked politicians, or fancy parties. The people at these things just seemed so fake – talking about this new piece of art, or that bottle of wine they'd acquired. He knew Magnus was incredibly well off, but she didn't flaunt it like these people. He'd also never seen so many false smiles in his life. Well, the ones the men were all giving Magnus were real… it was funny, really. He'd always known that she was an attractive woman, but had never really thought about how an average, random man would percieve her. He'd always seen her interacting with people from the Sanctuary Network, people who knew about her special gift, her amazing intelligence, and her fierce dedication to her work. They respected and looked up to her. The people here just knew her for her perfectly executed act. It was very odd trying to think of her as a lascivious cougar type…

After an hour or two of getting used to the role of boy-toy, he started getting antsy, which had led to his name-complaining again. Didn't they have an important mission to complete? Why were they just dancing and drinking wine? He was about to ask his escort when she leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"We can't just run off together after having just arrived. We need to let people know we are in fact here for the revelry. After enough time has passed, and enough alchohol has been consumed, people will be much more ammenable to the idea of us needing to be alone for a while."

Will nodded, "Of course. Sorry if I'm being antsy, I just… don't like these kind of functions."

She nodded her agreement.

"They are a rather special bunch."

It took a few more dances for Magnus to decide enough time had passed to make their escape. She twirled her way expertly across the floor to where Ambassador Hess was fetching a refill on his brandy.

"Geoffrey dear," she said softly, leaning in towards the man and laying her hand on his shoulder. He twirled around so fast he slopped some of his beverage on himself, thankfully missing any of Magnus' dress.

"Helen," he replied, with a dopey smile on his face. Will could only imagine how many glasses he'd had by now. Magnus leaned in so close to the man that Will could barely make out what she said next.

"Is there a billiards room anywhere nearby?" she whispered conspiratorially. She already knew, of course, the easiest way to get to the study with their target computers, as well as a few side routes, if needed, but no one besides Will knew that.

The Ambassador nearly choked on his drink.

"The Billiards…Helen! You are, quite simply, a fiend!" he said, in wonderment. He glanced over at Will, and shook his head.

"You are a lucky man, my friend. I hope you realize how lucky…" He quickly and quietly relayed the directions to the billiards room, and watched in longing as the woman of his dreams walked away with another man in tow.

Once they'd made it down the first hallway, in the complete opposite way Geoffrey had directed them, Will let his curiosity win.

"The Billiards Room?" he queried.

Helen smirked. "It's Helen of Devonshire's favourite place to take her young friends when she can't wait till they get home."

Will tried not to think of Helen lying on her back atop the rich, dark green of a pool table. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"You really do have this whole other identity thing down pat."

"Perhaps I could have a career in acting one day. Everyone certainly believes everything I say."

"Well, you have a very commanding persona."

She gave him a funny look.

"I'll take that as a compliment. But hush now, we're about to enter the areas where we are really not meant to be."

Will silently let her take the lead; they hadn't really talked about what to do if they ran into a guard on the way, but he assumed she had a plan… And a back up plan. Or three. They successfully navigated their way through the tastefully decorated hallways to the Senator's main study. Will was starting to believe they'd really done it that easily, when he heard footsteps coming down the corridor towards them.

"Magnus!" he hissed, "somebody's coming!"

She swiftly dealt with the lock on the sliding doors of the study, and silently opened them, hoping to make it inside and close the doors by the time the person who was surely a security guard made it.

"Magnus, he's almost here!"

Or maybe not…Magnus' mind raced - What could they possibly be doing here that wouldn't seem suspicious?

In her many years, the doctor had come to realize that in certain situations, you just need to follow your pure, base instincts. She grabbed Will by the neck, crushed her lips against his, and threw herself backwards against the side of the door frame.

* * *

Well? Shorter but sweeter? Let me know via that wonderful little "Review" button down below!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

Well, I started training Shotokan Karate two months ago, and my Sensai said that, even though the minimum time that you technically have to train for before testing for your first Belt is 4 months, that I could test tonight. I said "If I pass, I will post the final chapter in celebration" and guess what - I passed! Yay for all of us :D Also, I got a wonderful Second review from MissCheerfully asking when I was going to update again :p I hope you like!!!

* * *

Previously on Covert Operations:

_"Magnus, he's almost here!"_

_Or maybe not…Magnus' mind raced - What could they possibly be doing here that wouldn't seem suspicious?_

_In her many years, the doctor had come to realize that in certain situations, you just need to follow your pure, base instincts. She grabbed Will by the neck, smashed her lips against his, and threw herself backwards against the side of the door frame. _

* * *

Magnus feared that Will's analytical brain would try to back up and start asking questions, so she was mightily impressed when only half a second later, his hands were on her hips, he'd stepped just a bit closer, and opened his mouth up to her. She fought against the urge to grin – once again, Will had proved he was the perfect choice of protégé. Good Boy. After a few moments, Magnus chanced a peek down the hallway. The guard had stopped advancing, but was now rooted on the spot, looking at them with his mouth slightly open in surprise.

Yes dear, thought Helen, for she was definitely not in Magnus mode, this is what happens sometimes when a man and a woman come together, you should try it out one day. But anyways, back to the task at hand. The Doctor knew that they were still in pretty much the most off-limits area of the house, and, she admitted grudgingly to herself, the security was probably rather well trained. She hoped that talk of her reputation had extended to the house staff as well.

Time to step things up; she tightened her grip in Will's hair and ever so slowly started inching her left leg up his thigh, letting out a long, low moan. He immediately let his right arm fall to grip her thigh in support. His hand just so happened to find the slit in her dress, and he softly slid his hand underneath, pushing it further up her leg. She swore the shiver that coursed through her was from the climate controlled air hitting more skin, and nothing else. She slid her tongue just a bit further down his.

For the second time she peeked out of the corner of her eye. The guard was shifting uncomfortably on his feet, and glancing backwards. It was time for the home stretch. Just as she was contemplating her next move, she felt the masculine hand not currently attached to her very upper thigh grab her hair and wrench her head to the right, followed by a pair of teeth suddenly biting into her neck. The sound she made this time was very much unplanned. The grip on her hair lessened, and she felt the soft pad of Will's tongue gently and slowly lick the mark he'd just made. He then proceeded to place the lightest of kisses on top, move and inch or two down her neck, and begin to repeat the process. In an effort to keep her eyes from rolling back in her head, Helen opened her eyes again.

The guard was gone.

She felt the tiniest hint of disappointment.

Just for a second…

Her young co-worker, who'd made it down her neck to lick the hollow of her collarbone, had finally paused, and seemed to be contemplating whether he should continue down the neckline of her gown. She really needed to get him off before he could formulate his next attack. But it would be cruel to just shove him off and run to the computers… She could humbly admit, after all, that a make-out session with Helen Magnus was equal to about the ten best make out sessions of an average man's life combined. One did tend to learn a thing or two in 150 odd years. With all the hard work Will put in for her, she might as well finish this properly.

She placed her hands gently on his cheeks, bringing his face back to the level of hers, and claimed his mouth again, but this time with a much slower, softer rhythm. She eased up by increments so tiny, Will probably couldn't even tell she was doing it until the tongue that tasted of wine and spices had left his mouth, and she was sliding her leg back down his. He let go of his grip on her thigh, and rested it gently on her hip. She placed a final kiss on his lips, taking the bottom between hers and gently pulling on it, so that there was a quiet pop when the finally, fully separated.

They stayed pressed together; breathing deeply, for just a moment before Will took a step back, letting his arms drop to his sides.

He warily looked up at her, and she looked back. After having survived some pretty tough situations together, they had gotten rather good at silent communication. Helen silently told him that it had been a necessary step in ensuring the success of their mission, and nothing more. He told her that he understood, and agreed. Nothing they needed to talk about, or get awkward over.

"Well…" he said after a minute or so of more silence. "I certainly do feel like Bond after that…"

Helen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Ah, the things we do for the sake of the mission," she replied.

"It's a tough job, Magnus. I think you might need to give me a raise!"

"Right, because that's exactly the thing I make my employees do to ensure a good evaluation."

It was Will's turn to laugh, as he made his way over to the desk, sitting down in the chair and bringing the keyboard closer to him.

"So, let's do this thing!"

* * *

30 minutes later, the pair were making their way back to the main party hall when Helen touched him on the arm and said,

"Hold on just a moment, please, I've got something to attend to."

Will was about to ask what, when she bent her head and swept her hair back to reveal the left side of her neck. He coughed.

"Right… cover up…"

"Don't want to tarnish my reputation now, do I?" she said, opening the door to the ladies' restroom. Will snorted.

A few minutes later, the couple discreetly reentered the party hall, arm in arm. Will brightened when it seemed no one was going to comment on their return, but his face fell when the portly Ambassador Hess bumbled on over to them.

"My my, don't you two too look pleased as punch," he chortled, winking and waving his brandy glass around in what he thought was a subtle insinuation.

Magnus grinned, smugly, and accepted the wine glass he held out to her.

Will blushed.

Fini

* * *

A/N So! C'est tout! What did you guys think? Yay!? Nay? Bring back Helen of Devonshire some day? Please let me know :)


	4. The Morning After

I wrote this MONTHS ago. Pretty much right after Covert Operations. I had two very different versions in my head, but this is what came out. Neverending Thanks to the brilliant NoCleverSig for Beta'ing out my schizophrenic verb tenses. I don't know what planet my brain was on while writing this...

* * *

The rest of the evening had gone wonderfully. It seemed everyone had bought their story completely, evidenced by the fact that Will had to endure at least half a dozen sly nudges, winks, arched eyebrows and all manner of glasses being raised in his honour. Helen, of course, took it all in stride with that perfectly composed, slightly smug, dazzling smile of hers. Will had to admit that a few times he'd wished he could live as long as she, just so he could be so completely in control, so confident. Then he remembered the hardship and loss she'd endured throughout that life and decided he was alright with his own.

All in all, the party had gone swimmingly; so swimmingly, in fact, that they hadn't gotten home until well into the next day, after several more glasses of wine. Will wouldn't call himself a cheap drunk by any stretch of the imagination, but the wine, combined with the perfume Helen was wearing and the effort of trying to NOT think about the incredibly hot… mission, had left him rather loopy. When he dragged himself out of bed at the normal 7am the next day, holding his head and searching not only for his glasses but some Tylenol, he also couldn't help but be embarassed. How could he walk into Helen's office knowing she would be prim and perfect as always, while he, like a teenager, just wanted to lie on a couch and watch TV all day?

Will grudgingly went about his morning routine, and, 45 minutes later, took a deep breath before entering Magnus' office.

And there she was, sipping a cup of tea, with her flawlessly coifed hair resting gently on one shoulder. He mentally sighed, and took a few steps into the room when he suddenly stopped.

Her hair, while resting gloriously on one shoulder, just happened to reveal the neck on the other side.

She's forgotten to do something this morning. Maybe she didn't get that much rest last night either, or had kept working through the night and became so preoccupied that she'd forgotten this one, very important detail. Heh.

It was Will's turn to deliver a smug grin. A very smug grin, which he smothered the instant Helen looked up at him.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully yet professionally. She didn't inquire as to how he was doing or what they should say about last night's mission in the meeting that morning. Ok, she wanted to pretend it hadn't happened, or at least not let the others in on it. He was down with that.

"Morning!" he replied, advancing on his chair and plopping down. None of them actually had officially assigned seating of any sort, but as the months went by, and they had grown accustomed to the morning briefings, everyone just ended up gravitating towards specific chairs, and staying there. It was nice.

Within moments, the rest of the team arrived. Kate and Henry walked in at the same time. In fact, they were so engaged in their conversation over whether Superman would like "experimental garage acid" music that they both tried to enter the door simultaneously, and got a little squished. Kate gave a loud sound of exasperation and shoved Henry out of the way, before plopping down in her chair. Henry rubbed his arm dramatically and yelled, "Hey!" but didn't pursue the matter further. The Big Guy followed them, shaking his head, and opting to stay standing behind Kate's seat.

"Good Morning everyone," Magnus began. A chorus of "Hey Doc's" and the like ensued.

"I'm happy to report that Will and my mission yesterday was a great success. Henry, you'll find the weapons' schematics already loaded onto your computer in the small weapons lab."

Henry's face lit up as if he'd just been told he could open a present the day before Christmas.

"Awesome! Thanks Doc. I'm really excited to see if they have a triconian alloy base on the…"

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Kate. "When and where do we get to bust in and take the weapon back?"

Magnus smiled slightly and shook her head at the youthful enthusiasm being shown for her team's favourite things.

"I won't know that until Henry analyzes the weapon and determines what course of action will be needed to secure it."

Kate slumped a little in her chair.

Will resisted the urge to start tapping his finger on his leg, upset that this team of highly trained abnormal hunters hadn't noticed a certain new 'abnormality' on Helen's neck. It was rather obvious, after all. Come on people!

A few more minutes of normal shop talk flew by before Will, in his slightly hungover, sleep deprived impatient state decided it was time to force their hands.

"Hey Magnus, I've got a question about last night," he said, keeping the tone of his voice completely neutral, despite the excitement and apprehension growing inside.

He saw Kate go for a sip of water from the bottle she'd magically produced, and couldn't help a small grin escape.

Magnus turned her head to look at Will, exposing her neck even further, and suddenly water flew across the room and Kate was coughing and thumping her chest. Henry leaped out of his chair in shock, wondering what prompted such a sudden move. He looked over at Magnus, at first to see if she knew what was happening, but then he saw it.

Her neck.

Not one, not two, but THREE hickeys were all lined up in a pretty little row.

_Ho-ly $%&!_

The techie completely forgot about the ex-mercenary who was flailing under his hands and just stared at his boss, friend, mentor, one could even say mother- figure.

Then he realized Magnus had also forgotten about Kate and was giving him an odd look.

He shook his head, snapped his jaw shut, and went back to helping Kate settle. It took a few minutes, especially seeing as the Big Guy tried to assist at one point, but soon everyone was back in their chairs, and the water Kate had involuntarily spewed across Magnus' shiny office was wiped clean, thanks to the sweater the ex-mercenary had grudgingly given up to clean with.

Silence reigned for a moment while Magnus made sure everyone was indeed paying attention.

"Well then… Kate., are you alright?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine, sorry about that!"

"May I ask what happened?"

Kate knew Magnus was speaking from a doctor's perspective and meant well, and had to think fast to come up with an answer.

"Just went down the wrong pipe!" she said, shrugging and offering a self-deprecating smile. Henry snorted softly, and she kicked him. Magnus gave a half smile – one of those ones with the drawn eyebrows that said _"Ok, I still don't get what's going on but I guess I'll let this slide."_

Will, who had tried to stay out of the drama and simply watch the scene unfold, was really hoping that it wasn't going to end like that. Henry and Kate weren't ones to let something like this slide, and, he admitted to himself, if he didn't know what had happened to Magnus, he'd have been right there with them. Perhaps he'd be more concerned, initially, given all the vampiric type abnormals out there, but really, in the end, a hickey just looks like a hickey. On Magnus. Heh. Maybe a few years, or even months ago, he'd have been afraid of giving Magnus a good ribbing, but he was comfortable enough in his position within the "family" now that he was willing. The Big Guy? Will really didn't know. He certainly liked cuffing people upside the head, but would he actually play pranks? It was the quiet ones you usually had to watch out for…The young man decided he didn't ever want to find out.

"May I ask what happened to you?" Kate continued, eyes all wide and innocent.

Will was impressed – she'd got right down to it, didn't she! He observed Henry shoot Kate a very quick, appreciative glance which he tried to cover up by looking past Will at something on the wall, pretending to be enthralled by it. Will chuckled, silently.

"I'm sorry?" Magnus folded her hands on her desk.

"Last night. I mean, I know the mission was a success, and all, but it seemed like a pretty high class affair… Were there any, like… celebrities or anything?"

Wow, ok, maybe she did have some subtlety. This was interesting.

Magnus shook her head, smiling once again, "No, sorry to dissapoint. While there were many people of high stature and position, you wouldn't know any of them. Just politicians and the like."

"Are you sure?" pressed Kate, crossing her legs. "No George Clooney? No Richard Dean Anderson, or other such dashing gentlemen?"

Magnus was fully frowning by now, and not just because of the new members uncharacteristic language "No, sorry Kate, no such 'dashing gentlemen'"

"Oh," Kate was frowning now too, "Because it looks like you had a really good time is all."

Magnus started slightly at this, hands unfolding and back straightening in her chair. Will could sense a tiny light flicker in her eyes, and for a second he thought she might look towards him.

"What makes you say that?" she replied coolly.

By this time both Henry and Kate were covering their mouths to keep from laughing. Magnus' frown is deepened, and she chanced a glance at Will, who shrugged, and waved his hands around in confusion. She turned to her trusted friend, still standing behind Kate's chair. Will was amazed at what happened next.

Bigfoot regarded her for a moment before slowly bringing his hand up to scratch at his neck. Magnus was puzzled for a only a second before the flicker of light in her eyes amped up like a firework, and her own hand jumped before she got it under control, forcing it to not fly up to her exposed neck. She managed to keep her mouth closed only by clenching her jaw so hard Will swore teeth should have been cracking.

By now, Henry and Kate had completely given up all pretense of ignorance and were half falling out of their chairs in laughter. Will wasn't that much, if any, years older than them, but couldn't help thinking "Oh children" as tears started to roll down their faces. The real kicker, however, was that Bigfoot had joined in. He was guffawing like Will had never heard before. Will almost lost it too. Instead, he took a deep breath, and tried to recite psychiatry textbooks to stay composed. He leaned back in his chair, crossed one leg over his knee, and clasped his hands in front of him in an almost Dr. Evil style satisfied way. This is what she got for all the striding about in triumph last night, talking about "young friends" and "billiards rooms" and the like.

By now, Magnus had every so properly adjusted her hair to fall upon both shoulders, as usual. She calmly folded her hands back together to rest on her desk, and then she looked at him. That intense, all-knowing gaze that managed to say so much without any words. That damn silent communication thing again.

_You knew, didn't you._

Yep.

_You wanted this to happen._

Yep.

_Cheeky bloody monkey._

He grinned, very, very smugly.

Turnabout is fair play.

Fin

* * *

So, was it how you thought things would go? If so, cool, if not, well, my way's better! HAHA, just kidding, I'd LOVE to hear how you thought everyone could have found out! Pweeze Review :)

MSam


End file.
